Today you are competing for business in a noisy world. Just look at all your options for connecting via social media. Every time you sign onto Instagram or Facebook, you’ve got the choice of stories or your feed. Not to mention the rabbit hole of Pinterest. Plus new social media platforms crop up that add to that noise.

How can you get the word out about your business in all that noise? If you are caught up in that noise, so is your customer. One effective way is with advertising.

Advertising is used to persuade an audience (your potential or current customers/clients) to take action with respect to your product or service. And if that action is purchasing your product, the results are not always immediate.

I have read numerous studies that it can take anywhere from 13-17 times for someone to see your print ad before they purchase. I’ve seen numbers as low as 7 with regard to television advertising. And, the range for online advertising varies as much. Maybe with changing algorithms, it varies even more. 

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Have you thought about using Google AdWords, the boxes containing links that appear on the right hand side, and sometimes at the top, of Google’s search engine results? If you know what you are doing, Google AdWords can be a successful part of your marketing plan.

In the Winter issue of The Professional Quilter, Gloria Hansen interviewed her business partner Derry Thompson about Google AdWords. Derry has a great deal of expertise in this area. Here is an excerpt from the article:

Google AdWords are not natural search engine results, but rather they are paid-for advertising. Every time someone clicks on those links the company or individual that placed the ad pays Google a certain amount of money. Hence it’s referred to as pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. AdWords are the foundation of Google’s revenue stream. It’s what makes them money. The goal with paying Google for advertising is hopefully attracting new business to your site.

Using Adwords can make makes sense if your site is new and you want to establish a decent search engine ranking. They can also help you compete directly with others in your field. Here are three tips from Derry on using AdWords:

1. Make sure the price per click you are bidding is economical relative to the products you are selling. It’s fine to bid $20 a click for a product that sells for$100, but not if the product sells for $10. Remember that not all clicks will result in a sale, hence you need to monitor the AdWords carefully and make sure that you aren’t wasting money.

2. Pick your key phrases carefully. The AdWords default is set to what’s called a “broad match.” Thus, if you bid on “quilts” and it’s set on broad match, your results will display for any search that contains the word “quilts,” not just quilts itself. It’s much better to focus on a few phrases and set them to use an exact match. You do this by entering the key phrase within square brackets, so entering a phrase such as [quilting widgets] will only show if someone searches exactly for “quilting widgets.” Once you’ve entered your key phrases you can later adjust them as needed.

3. Set your geographical area. If you aren’t selling worldwide, there’s no point in advertising worldwide. In AdWords you can set your ads to only appear in certainly geographical areas. Thus if your market is the United States, set your ads to only appear in the United States; if your market is California, set your ads to appear only in California.

The International Association of Professional Quilters offers resources and networking opportunities for you to create a success from your quilting business. Learn about all the benefits of IAPQ membership here.